Language | BILINGUAL Jan 30, 2017

A woman's lowly place in Japan, mirrored in its language

Given that so many demeaning and negative words related to women endure, is it any surprise that sexism is still rife in Japan?

Books / Reviews May 7, 2016

The vagina, in all its 'obscene' glory

You've probably heard of Japanese artist known as Rokudenashiko ("good for nothing girl"), who was arrested in 2014 for sending the 3-D data of her genitals to patrons of her successful crowdfunding campaign to create a vagina-shaped kayak. And although the Japanese-language press echoed the ...

Books Jul 18, 2015

Underneath the 'Orientalist' kimono

Is it "racist" for non-Japanese to wear kimono? That question has been fiercely debated since protesters entered Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in late June to decry an exhibition encouraging visitors to try on a red uchikake kimono in front of a 1876 painting ...

National Jun 5, 2015

Harnessing the power of community to drive an energy revolution

Watch Kazuaki Hashimoto chopping firewood for the following winter on a baking day at the end of April, and you may be forgiven for thinking he leads a rather old-fashioned lifestyle. But Hashimoto, who recently moved from a house with an air conditioner and electric ...

Lifestyle Jan 9, 2015

Don't fight trips to the gym: Take it outside

It's January. The bars are empty and the gyms are full of people with good intentions. By February or March, of course, that situation will reverse, as new year resolutions begin to flag and it becomes increasingly difficult to justify that extortionate gym membership. Like ...

Books / Reviews Jan 3, 2015

Novelist Mizumura fights to arrest fall of Japanese literature

The abiding belief among some native English speakers in Japan is that Japanese people need to use more English instead of sheltering in the comfort of a mother tongue barely spoken beyond their archipelago. The Fall of Language in ...

National | FOCUS Nov 21, 2014

Japan's robotics revolution gets a reboot as nation aims to regain lead in ¥3.4 trillion industry

Neurosurgeon Tetsuya Goto had just begun testing a robot to perform brain surgery when he discovered Japan was moving to tighten regulations that would shut down his seven-year project. Over the next dozen years he watched in frustration as the da Vinci, a rival endoscopic ...

Business / Corporate | FOCUS Sep 19, 2014

As mobile arm struggles, Sony looks to PlayStation

The head of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation division hopes to raise its profit outlook for this year, in stark contrast to the electronics firm's mobile business, which has forecast deep losses and sent Sony's stock reeling. With Sony's three core electronics businesses — the third is ...

Business / Corporate Apr 21, 2014

Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles sought both control, escape

In June 2011, when customers of now-bankrupt bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox agitated for proof that the Tokyo-based firm was still solvent after a hacking attack, CEO Mark Karpeles turned to the comedy science fiction novel "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". During an online chat, ...